On October 22 Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian met Nils Muižnieks, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe who has arrived to Yerevan to participate in the high-level conference “Combating racism, xenophobia and intolerance in Europe”.
Greeting the guest Minister Nalbandian stressed the importance of the role of the Commissioner for Human Rights in improving human rights in the CoE member states.
Expressing gratitude for the reception Nils Muižnieks noted the the Armenian Chairmanship of the Council of Europe is very successful and the organization of a high-level conference “Combating racism, xenophobia and intolerance in Europe” is an evidence of that.
Minister Nalbandian underlined that the title of the conference is not accidental because those problems are not only actual but they are also a serious challenge to the international community. In this context Minister Nalbandian said: “Despite the struggle against xenophobia, intolerance and hatred by the Council of Europe and other international organizations, even in the CoE there are countries that not only propagate xenophobia but also adhere to this ideology in their policies, thus neglecting the criticism of the CoE and other authoritative international institutions as well as condemn and contradict them declaring themselves as centers of tolerance to serve as an example for the rest of the world.”
